Backfire Effect

On Adam Ruins Everything, we're all about using persuasive, rational arguments to bring awareness to a topic and hopefully change some minds along the way. But as our expert Professor Stephan Lewandowsky points out, that can lead to the opposite result, known as the backfire effect. The backfire effect says that the more you try to change someone's mind, the less likely you are to actually change it. What is more effective is to restate facts, provide alternative narratives, and ask questions that poke holes in that person's argument.